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Tre Johnson to Washington, Cooper Flagg to Dallas and how Longhorn fans should feel after the NBA Draft

by: RT Young06/26/25
Tre Johnson
Tre Johnson (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

A month ago, I wrote about how fans should be feeling after a wild NBA draft lottery. The ping pong balls had massive implications for Longhorn guard Tre Johnson and the three Texas teams.

Let’s revisit that idea following the first round of the draft. 

Dallas Mavericks 

Remember when the Mavericks went to the NBA Finals last year and could have done the sensible thing and not traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers for the trademark to the “defense wins championships” mantra? I do. Then the lottery went full Old Testament and God reminded suffering Mavericks fans they weren’t alone. Still, there was a slight question as to whether the Mavericks would do the unthinkable.

But luckily, common sense prevailed on Wednesday and Nico Harrison did the logical thing, finally. He drafted Cooper Flagg from Duke with the #1 overall pick.

Flagg is the third best prospect to come through the draft this century, I’d rank him behind just LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama. He’s the great hope of Maine and the Mavericks fans White Knight. 

The best case scenario is that putting a generational talent next to a veteran team and two hall of famers in Anthony Davis or Kyrie Irving could play out like when Tim Duncan joined the 1990s Spurs.

How could it go wrong? The veteran Mavericks and coach Jason Kidd struggle to get Flagg involved offensively and he comes along slower than expected. 

San Antonio Spurs 

The Spurs didn’t overthink their fortune at getting the number two pick and drafted Rutgers guard Dylan Harper. The son of NBA champion Ron Harper is a jumbo Jalen Brunson who has some Manu Ginobili to his game. Me gusta! The fit with De’Aaron Fox might be clunky, but the fit with Wembanyama is spectacular. That’s all that matters. 

San Antonio also had the 14th pick from Atlanta and drafted 3&D wing from Arizona, Carter Bryant. All of the Spurs current core is good on the ball, but struggles to play off of it. So, getting an off ball player who can shoot from distance was key. The long and bouncy player shouldn’t have been there at 14, but the Spurs benefited from the dumb teams being themselves and making silly decisions prior to the Spurs pick. New Orleans shouldn’t have a basketball team. 

Unfortunately, the incompetent teams also resulted in Georgetown big Thomas Sorber going to Oklahoma City at 15. The rich just get richer. 

Houston Rockets

The Rockets shipped their 10th pick to Phoenix to land Kevin Durant from the Suns. Houston faithful should still be on cloud nine over that deal. KD returns to Texas, but he gives Houston a bucket getter who will allow their young pieces to continue to grow. A lot is riding on what you’d assume is the former Longhorns’ final act. 

Tre Johnson

Texas fans might see Tre Johnson in a Wizards hat and feel sorry for him. The Washington team isn’t actually known for having a rich history. They haven’t been to the conference finals since 1979, after all. But, Washington finally has a competent front office and veterans like Khris Middleton who can help their young core and players like Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr. For one, as a Spurs fan I’m glad Johnson is in the East. Also, I named the Wizards the best spot for Johnson to land back in May after the lottery. 

“If I’m picking the best spot for Johnson, I will be rooting for number six in the Washington Wizards. You hear that and think dumpster fire, but they’ve actually been building a nice young core with lots of length and athleticism. Their young players lack pure bucket-getting ability and Johnson would add that in droves. Only in the Gilbert Arenas era did I ever want to watch Wizards games, but that could change if they nab the best Longhorn scorer since Kevin Durant.”

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How are we feeling Longhorns/Hoops fans?

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